U.S. construction spending drops in April 2020

U.S. construction spending declined 2.9 percent in April, according to the Department of Commerce. Chart: Commerce Department

U.S. construction spending declined 2.9 percent in April to an adjusted annual rate of $1.346 trillion, according to a report from the Department of Commerce.

However, the April figure is 3 percent above the April 2019 estimate of $1.307 trillion, marking a slight improvement from the same time period last year.

By segment, residential construction spending was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $536.8 billion in April, a 4.5 percent dip from the revised March estimate of $561.9 billion. Meanwhile, nonresidential construction spending was at $467.3 billion in April, a 1.3 percent drop from March’s revised estimate of $473.6 billion.

In addition, highway construction spending dropped 5.2 percent to $106.1 billion from March’s estimate of $111.9 billion.

For the first four months of the year overall, construction spending totaled $412.5 billion, a 7.1 percent improvement compared to $385.2 billion during the first four months of 2019.